Policies - Behaviour

Ensuring a friendly supportive school environment for all pupils.

Introduction

The building blocks of an orderly well run school are:

teachers who respect and support their children;
pupils who respect their teachers;
simple classroom rules which pupils help to establish;
judicious use of praise and a meaningful reward system;
well planned and interesting lessons which have an element of fun and which challenge and support pupils;

Pupils understanding of moral and ethical attitudes can be developed in philosophy lessons, PSE, RE, morning assemblies and through the use of good children’s literature.

It is also important for all the staff to apply the same principles, the same set of expectations in terms of work and behaviour; this makes movement around the school more orderly and the transition between classes much smoother:

Self Respect
Pupils should be encouraged to hold high ideals for themselves such as: honesty, loyalty, courage, keeping one’s word, being compassionate.

Respect for Others: Pupils should:

allow others to learn and teachers to teach;
treat everybody with consideration and good manners;
respect the right of others to hold their beliefs and opinions;
help to prevent all forms of bullying: physical and verbal
behave with the health and safety of others in mind;
behave helpfully and responsibly.

Playtimes - general points

Pupils must not go out before the bell and they must walk through the hall and rear corridor.
They must be accompanied by the person on duty.
The person on duty needs to move round all areas of the playground to make sure all is well.
Each playtime pupils should be asked if everything during play was alright. Issues need to be entered in the playground file on the piano.
Significant incidents need to be brought to the attention of the class teacher. Serious incidents to Joyce or Stuart and the class teacher.
Pupils who have a minor injury can be sent to the kitchen with a friend for support to be treated. Incidents need to be recorded in the accident book, and parents informed if injuries are other than minor ones.
There must always be two members of staff if the paddock is used for play.

Responding to poor behaviour:

always explain what is expected in terms of behaviour;
always explain in advance what sanction will be applied in future;
always explain why the punishment or sanction is being imposed;

The need to be fair, consistent and reasonable is a key factor in the success of the discipline policy.

REWARDS

Praising students will raise their self-esteem, help them to learn to accept praise with good grace. Praise may be given for:

making a good effort;
willingness to help out;
for teamwork;
helping others;
personal achievement;

Praise should be given when:

it is above the standard for that pupil;
it is above the standard for that group (class, school);
it is of a consistently good standard (this one often gets missed );

We should avoid giving rewards:

as bribes e.g. for classroom control;
on demand;
in a way which causes embarrassment;
in a way in which devalues their worth to others (e.g. over use);

Types of reward include:

Positive comments in class and/or reinforcement at end of lesson;
A private word to parents, or a note to parents;
Extra playtime;
A special treat/ event shared by whole class eg BBQ /High Ropes excursion;
Recognition in school assembly;
The Simpson Cup for Y6;

SANCTIONS

The school has agreed standards of behaviour with pupils because it believes that good and thoughtful behaviour is essential for effective learning. Pupils do not always conform to these agreed standards and a system of sanctions is therefore required. A sanction must not come as a surprise- pupils must be made aware of what constitutes unacceptable behaviour and what punishments may be imposed. Sanctions can be linked to work, effort, behaviour and personal conduct and should be given when behaviour, work or effort is:

below the standard expected by the school;
below the standard of that pupil;
of a consistently poor standard;

We should avoid:

negative comments – especially about the person;
punishing a whole group;
inconsistency;
threatening punishments and not imposing a sanction when needed;
imposing excessive sanctions;
labelling the child instead of confronting their action and behaviour;

WHAT SANCTIONS CAN WE USE?

Make our disapproval clear – by a look, by talking to the pupil, by showing our disapproval in front of others;
Insisting that work is repeated/completed or that extra work is done. Always give a deadline and check;
Pupils should be moved in class if their present position is influencing their ability to learn or influencing the learning of others. They may sit on their own, they may be placed in the hall or office and monitored there;
Missing playtime;
Pupil referred to Dr Humphreys;

The Role of Parents
Parents have an important role to play in helping to bring the best out of the child. Teachers need to use their professional judgement in terms of seeing parents. Small issues need not be reported. More significant issues can be mentioned informally at the end of the day. Serious issues should be raised with Joyce and Stuart and a meeting arranged with parents with the aim of getting their support to combat the problem. It is important after this meeting to give regular feedback to parents. It is also important to have agreement about closure of the issue and note the date. The contact and key points of discussions with parents should be recorded and dated.

There are higher levels of sanction, which may be imposed after consultation with appropriate staff:

withdrawal of privileges;
placed on monitoring report;
internal exclusion from certain lessons or from theatre visit or field trip;
ask parents/guardians to come in to school;
fixed term exclusion from school;
permanent exclusion;

Prior to moving to exclusion : the school will have entered a dialogue with parents, tried a range of strategies and sanctions with little effect. If the head is of the opinion that the pupil concerned cannot coexist with teachers and peers in the school community he may resort to asking a pupil’s parents to move the child to another school for a fresh start.

Reviewed and updated after discussions with Y5 and Y6 and with all teaching staff January 2011.

To read the Treffos Policy on Bullying, please click HERE.